Nikon 18-200mm VR

'Leaps tall buildings in a single bound...'

If you were to read a number of the magazine articles about this lens you might be forgiven for expecting to find a little red 'S' in place of the trademark 'VR' badge on the satin black casing. Nikon's latest 'super lens' appears to be capable of feats no normal 'earth lens' could achieve. A usable zoom range that equates to 28-300mm in film terms, a close focus distance of just 18 inches making it a contender for a macro tag, super quick and quiet AF-S focussing and to cap it all, the mythical VR-II vibration reduction system. A package that by all accounts will allow me to take hand held close ups while sitting on my tumble dryer during it's fastest spin cycle...in the dark.

Clearly I had to have one.

Unfortunately, so, it appeared, did every other Nikon owner in the world. Supply problems just seemed to fuel the fire. It's popularity reinforcing the perception that this really was the best lens since sliced bread. Prices on e-bay bordered on profiteering and I resigned myself to the fact that I would be in for a very long wait. Patience, they say, is a virtue, and it would appear 'they' are correct. Some months later however, a random visit to a local retailer, and a speculative question, resulted in me finally getting my sweaty paws on 'my precious!'.

Does it live up to all the media hysteria? Well, actually, yes. Is it the perfect lens? No. Perhaps I should explain.

I am not going re-hash all the technical specs here. If you are reading this, chances are you already know all that stuff. I will also not be posting 'sample' pics as what you would see is dependant on the set up and specification of the monitor you are looking at so not a fair test really. What I will tell you is what I thought of it in actual day-to-day use. What I think are it's strengths and perhaps more importantly what I think are its limitations. I don't like to use the word weaknesses, as it is an admirable performer in many areas. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Considering it's price and it's touted abilities I have to confess to a degree of 'oh.' when I got it out of its box. Disappointed is too strong a word, surprised is probably more apt. I expected a heavy, lump of a lens but a combination of optical design and extensive use of plastics in the lens barrel, high quality plastics I grant you but plastics none the less, has resulted in a lightweight and compact unit. The lens mount was reassuringly metal but substantial was not a word that leapt immediately to mind.

Once attached though it balances very nicely with my D200. I have the MB-D200 battery pack fitted as well and the whole package fits comfortably in my hands. The three buttons on the side of the lens are simple and easy to use. The VR on/off switch is self-explanatory. As is the manual/auto focus selector. The normal/active control threw me though, and necessitated a quick leaf through the instructions. (I am one of those people who views instructions as a last resort. I am a man. Technology is in my genes! I never learn.) It turns out that there are two different types of vibration apparently, and this lens is so clever that it can deal with both of them! 'Normal' takes care of the 'washing machine spin cycle/morning after the night before' type tremors, whereas 'active' allows you to take pictures from a moving vehicle. Oh, how I have yearned for a lens that will allow me to take pictures from a moving vehicle! I don't doubt that there are some photographers for whom this will be a genuine help, but I have to wonder if there are enough to warrant the extra research, development and manufacturing costs, and how much cheaper the final product would have been if it just came with 'normal'. Just a thought.

Another feature that I am not sure about is the auto focus override that allows you to focus manually while the camera is still in auto focus mode. I confess that I have not had cause to use this feature yet and there may well be a 'eureka' moment around the corner when it will it dawn on me why this is a good thing, but for the moment I can't see it. If I have to take over from the auto focus then it's not doing it's job properly. I don't like the sound of that. Still, it's a feature that is there if I need it and it's not getting in my way so it's no big deal.

The purchase of a new lens more often than not means a new filter adaptor. This one pushes the limits at 72mm but will still allow me to use my Cokin P series holder. Just. This is one of the limitations I mentioned. It's not a fault of the lens, but using a polarizer and/or the Cokin lens hood results in serious vignetting at 18mm. In certain circumstances the hood actual encroaches into the frame. As I said, it's not a lens fault, but bear in mind you will need filters larger than Cokin P series to get around this. 100mm filters like Lee or Cokin Z Pro should be ok but if you don't already own some you are looking at a substantial additional expense. On the positive side, internal focusing means a non-rotating front element, so polarizers and graduated filters are easy to use.

One noticeable omission is a zoom lock. The much cheaper Sigma 18-125mm that it replaced had one but Nikon clearly felt it wasn't required. This is a shame because my example suffers from 'zoom creep' with very little prompting. A small point, but given the time and effort that has gone into other aspects of it's construction, I would have thought a zoom lock would be a 5 minute job for the designers. Zoom creep also rears it's ugly head if you happen to be pointing the lens down to take a picture. Another disappointment.

But these are trivial points when balanced against the positives this lens brings.

Bearing in mind the zoom range, the image quality is remarkable. Sharpness and contrast are excellent and distortion at the wide end is, to my mind, perfectly acceptable. The AF-S focussing system lives up to expectations. When hooked up to my D200 it is quiet, quick and positive. No auto-focus system is perfect, and there will always be circumstances where it will struggle (maybe I have just answered my own question about the manual override) but so far this has been the best body/lens combination I have used.

So far so good, but what sets this lens apart from the crowd, and justifies the price tag, is the much vaunted VR-II vibration reduction system. Capable, we are told, of allowing a staggering extra four stops before you need to reach for physical support. Does it work? Well in my experience, yes it does. I haven't done any scientific bench tests or multi lens comparisons. But I have used it hand held in situations where I wouldn't have got other lenses out of the bag and I have achieved results. It is this ability that, more than any other, defines the target use for this lens. It is the ultimate travel photographers companion. Dedicated landscape snappers will still use high quality wide-angle primes and achieve superb results that beat this lens. The wildlife crew will still use their telephotos to get images this lens cannot reach. But the travel/reportage photographer will name his or her first-born child 'Nikon' in thanks for the gift that is the 18-200mm VR. Take in a whole market or street scene or landscape, then pick out the details or the candid portrait. Work all day and on into the evening without having to carry anything more than your camera and a rucksack. Worry no more about having to change lenses in a dusty, windy, location or missing that winning shot because you were using the wrong lens. Joy.

So, to sum up, is the Nikon 18-200mm VR a 'Jack of all trades but master of none'? Well, if I am honest, yes. It is not a true macro lens. It is not a prime wide-angle or telephoto. Put it up against a specialist lens in any of these areas and it will come in second. But, and it's a big but, it will be a close second. It is by any measure a quality optic and when combined with such flexibility and, of course, the vibration reduction facility, it is a formidable package and worth every penny.

I was lucky enough to spend four days in Venice last November and got some fantastic pictures with my old lens, but the 18-200mm VR was built for locations like that and as soon as I can I am going back to get all the ones that got away.





About the author: David Stanley is a freelance photographer concentrating on landscape and travel images. He has growing portfolios of royalty free images with Alamy and istockphoto. For more articles and reviews, along with a selection of his work available as open and limited edition prints, please visit his website at www.davidstanleyphotography.com.

(If you are reproducing this article please ensure you include the 'About the author' footer in full on each occasion. Thanks.)